Rohan was the territory of the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers on the northern borders of Gondor in Middle-earth. Well-known for their horses and cavalry, they were Gondor's most important ally. Rohan's official definition in Sindarin is "The Mark".

Background

In the 2000s, a remnant tribe of such Northmen that called itself the Éothéod moved from the valleys of Anduin to the north west of Mirkwood, clearing out what remained of the recently defeated witch kingdom of Angmar, east of the Misty Mountains. While there, some dispute arose between them and the dwarves over the treasure-hoard of Scatha the dragon.

As a reward, Cirion invited Eorl on Amon Anwar, over the tomb of Elendil and he swore mutual alliance and cooperation between the two peoples.

History

Calenardhon, a province of Gondor, was devastated by the earlier Great Plague and the survivors to a large extent were slain in the recent invasion; Dunlendings attempted to repopulate it without Gondor's consent. Cirion gave this area to Eorl who moved his people there driving out the Dunlendings. Migration was continued to the days of second king Brego who defended the borders against the Dunlendings and Easterlings, and drove off the Wold the remaining Orcs and Balchoth.

Edoras

Rohan's first city was Aldburg built by Eorl, but soon after Brego built the Golden Hall of Meduseld, and made Edoras the capital of Rohan.

King Aldor was the founder of a golden age in Rohan's history, during which he completed Rohan's conquest east of the Isen and the Rohirrim increased greatly in numbers, who even settled valleys of Ered Nimrais including Harrowdale. He succeeded in driving all the remaining Dunlendings from his realm. During Goldwine's rule, the golden age continued and the guard of the borders lessened, but the Dunlendings began to slowly return to northern Westfold, settling the area around the (friendly to them) Ring of Isengard and the southern eaves of Fangorn Forest[1]. By Déor's time, a powerful Dunlendish force had been established, and the King was forced to ride northward from Edoras, ultimately to defeat his enemies but he was unable to recapture the Ring of Isengard. The following years the Dunlendings harassed and mingled with the Rohirrim.

The first line of kings lasted for 249 years, until the ninth king Helm Hammerhand. In T.A.2758, Rohan was invaded by Dunlendings under Wulf, son of Freca, of mixed Dunland and Rohan blood. The King, Helm Hammerhand, took refuge in the Hornburg until reinforcements from Gondor and Dunharrow (a refuge of the Rohirrim) arrived a year later and defeated the invaders. In a daring raid Fréaláf recaptured Edoras, and managed to reclaim it. He eventually drove the Dunlendings back across the rivers Isen and Adorn, freeing all of Rohan.

The Rohirrim now kept a strong force in north Westfold, however at some time King Folcwine would need the help of Gondor to drive some of them from the area.[2] He was successful but the people who remained were largely of mixed blood, and not loyal to Edoras.[3]

It was soon after this that Saruman arrived and took over Isengard, and was welcomed as a strong ally, since it would take Rohan close to 200 years to recover its strength after the invasion.

As Rohan was still recovering from the war with the Dunlendings, hostilities remained at the western borders. For two generations, during the coincidental conflict many thousands of Orcs tried to claim a refuge in the White Mountains and troubled the Rohirrim; Brytta fought them off, and when he died it was believed Rohan was free of Orcs; they were not entirely driven from the White Mountains until T.A.2864 by Folca.

During Thengel's reign, a mysterious Northerner calling himself Thorongil entered his service, and rode with him for some time.

The rule of the Stewards of Gondor was now over. King Éomer and the new king of Gondor, Aragorn II (Aragorn), renewed their oath of alliance, and reaffirmed Cirion's grant of Calenardhon to the Rohirrim. But though Sauron had perished Éomer often fulfilled the Oath of Eorl and went with King Elessar far into the East and South. He was known as Éomer Éadig, or "the Blessed", because during his reign Rohan recovered from the hurts of the War and became a rich and fruitful land again.

The Rohirrim found abandoned Gondorian fortresses and refuges in the White Mountains, such as the Dunharrow, the Orthanc and the Hornburg which they restored and used themselves.

The capital of Rohan was the hill fort of Edoras which lay on the slopes of the White Mountains. Another large city was Aldburg, the capital city of the Eastfold and original city of Eorl the Young. Other cities must have existed but are not named.

At the time of the War of the Ring, Rohan was roughly a third the size of Gondor, whose borders had slowly been shrinking for decades.

Climate and countryside

The countryside of Rohan was described as a land of pastures and lush tall grassland. The lands of Rohan are frequently described as appearing like "seas of grass". Most of the Rohirrim dwelt in small villages or farms.

Politics

Military

The military of the Rohirrim was commanded by Marshals. The First Marshal of the Riddermark was the highest military rank and commanded the Muster of Edoras: Riders of the capital Edoras and the surrounding lands, including the King's Lands and Harrowdale. In his youth, King Théoden had led the Riders of the Muster of Edoras himself, so that no First Marshal was needed and at the time of the War of the Ring, there was no First Marshal.

After the War of the Rings, the new rank of Marshal of the East-mark was created for the eastern Rohan by King Éomer. The first Rider to hold it was his lieutenant, Elfhelm.

Alliance with Gondor

The alliance between Rohan and Gondor came into existence in the year 2510 of the Third Age. In that year the Easterlings launched a massive invasion of Gondor. The army of Gondor was defeated and trapped between the Limlight and the Celebrant. Gondor, which had always been on friendly terms with the different tribes of the Northmen, sent messengers to the closest tribe, the Éothéod. Although it was unlikely that the message calling for aid would come through, it did. Then Eorl the Young and his fierce Éothéod Riders unexpectedly took the field during the Battle of Celebrant and turned the tide in the favour of Gondor. As a reward Cirion, the Steward of Gondor, gave Eorl the depopulated province of Calenardhon for his people to settle, while fulfilling Gondor's need for a strong ally. The Oath of Eorl was sworn by both Cirion and Eorl. Neither nation has ever broken the alliance ever since. Rohan has gone through great lengths to fulfill their part of the treaty including sacrificing two of its heirs when Gondor was under threat from the Haradrim in 2885, when Fastred and Folcred, the twin sons of King Folcwine, were killed during the Battle of Crossings of Poros. King Théoden once again honoured the alliance in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

War with the Dunlendings

To the west of Rohan lived the Dunlendings, a native people who had been hostile against the Free Peoples for a long time. The Dunlending Wulf briefly usurped of the throne of Rohan during the long winter.

Wormtongue

When king Théoden began to grow old, he took as an advisor Gríma, later called Wormtongue. Gríma quickly became Théoden's chief advisor, but unknown to all he was secretly working for Saruman. Gríma played on Théoden's fears to further weaken the strength of the king and all of Rohan, always advising retreat where an attack was needed. He may have also begun poisoning the king at this time. This nearly proved disastrous for Rohan, and also for Gondor, by robbing them of their strongest ally in the north. Gríma Wormtongue's plans were not revealed until Gandalf arrived in Edoras during the War of the Ring.

Etymology

The name Rohan (coined by Hallas) is Gondor Sindarin, meaning "Horse-country". Rohan is a debased form of the proper Sindarin name Rochand (or Rochan), containing the elements roch ("horse") and the toponymical ending -and.[4][5][6]

In a draft of The Appendices, Tolkien noted that Rohan "is of Noldorin origin, a translation of the native Lōgrad", having the "strictly correct form [...] Rochann."[7]

Other versions of the legendarium

Conceptualized as the "Horse kings of Rohan" allied with Mordor in early drafts of 1939, the Rohirrim took their final form in 1942 when the text of the Lord of the Rings was completed to about one third.

Inspiration

Several aspects of Rohan's culture and history seem to be inspired by both Goths, Scandinavians and the medieval Anglo-Saxons.

Just like the Germanic Ostrogoths, Rohanese culture was a mounted culture. It had separated from the Northmen, moved south, and had settled in close proximity with a civilization. In the Goths' case it was the Byzantine Empire and in the case of the Rohirrim, it was Gondor.

Especially Hervarar saga, with its Mirkwood, Gothic horsemen and shieldmaidens, appears to have inspired Tolkien when creating the Rohirrim, although he exchanged the Gothic tongue with the Anglo-Saxon.

The antipathy between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings resembles the historical tension between the Anglo-Saxon settlers of Britain and the native Celts.